Future Tense!

Things have been moving so fast in the Land of Noa!!! While the photos here will give some insight into the recent past, the big excitement here is all about the future. Last week Noa learned the sign for “and then…” – a simple enough phrase, but conceptually it’s impact is enormous. As one of her teachers so eloquently put it: “now she has a future.”

This is not to say that Noa had no future before that… but she was not in procession of the future. Now it is hers and she clearly knows she’s onto something big.

Until now, Noa could tell us what she wanted right now. And we, in turn, could tell her what was happening now or maybe what was about to happen (i.e., we’re going to the table means we’re going there now). BUT NOW, Noa can say and understand and enjoy “I’m eating and then tooth brushing and then picking up balls and then playing with shapes and then…” and so on. Actually sometimes it’s a bit more detailed for Noa: “I’m eating and then I’m finished and then I’m tooth brushing and then I’m finished and then I’m picking up balls and then I’m finished….”

Last night Noa told me “I’m putting on different pants and then six doggies and then six circles and then six stars and then four blanket and then big pillow and then sleepy…. and then sleepy finished stand up.” That she took it all the way to waking up the next day just plain astounded me! She also spent a lot of the weekend signing that “Mommy, Daddy, Noa are home together now,” which was totally sweet.

Other new and very in fashion words/signs include: “and” – everything is “and” even if it isn’t quite the right word. It’s just a fun word and means you get to keep talking so that’s always good. “To say” is also popular, as in “I want to say bye bye socks. See you later. Love you.” Naming is also big, as in, “The name of this Circle is Daddy.” Daddy is the name of many, many things. Diaper is also a popular name for things, as is “This-is.”

By way of a more general update the winter in Boston was brutal – especially for a certainly girl who doesn’t like snow, can’t walk on her own and just getting bigger and stronger while her parents just seem to get older and weaker. Now has a ton of energy and keeping her entertained on weekends has been challenging: swimming as much as we can, a lot of dancing at home and Sunday mornings at a nearby swing-gym.

As the photos above demonstrate, Noa has finally made friends with her Dolly (she’s had Dolly for years, but it was just around her birthday (in February, yes, she’s 10!!!) that she got the idea that Dolly was fun and interesting worth attending to.

I also wanted to share this very cool video of Noa taking off one of her leg braces. As you can see they are a big complicated, but Noa is really really into learning how to do things herself (though sometimes when she is home, she thinks Mommy should do things for her because… you know… that’s Mommy’s job).